Crown Princess Victoria visits UAE

Crown Princess Victoria started a 4-day visit to the United Arab Emirates on the 17th January.

17th January;

The Crown Princess started her day by touring an exhibition with Dr. Lamya Nawaf Fawwaz, the Assistant Provost for Regional Affairs at Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, and Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, during the opening ceremony of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2011 in Abu Dhabi – which Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg also attended. She then spoke at the opening ceremony and said that, “The earth’s resources are not interchangeable, and changes in nature take place around us. It is important to have the desire and knowledge to recognize these great problems. The reality will catch up with us and it is our joint responsibility to not ignore this and instead take concrete steps to meet the challenges of climate change.” Victoria then went on in the afternoon to attend a panel discussion with Young Future Energy Leaders.

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18th January,

The Crown Princess started the second day of her tour by making a visit to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). IRENA was officially established in Bonn on 26 January 2009. To date, 148 states and the European Union have signed the Statute of the Agency; amongst them are 48 African, 38 European, 35 Asian, 17 American and 10 Oceania States.

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Later on, Victoria walked around Masdar Institute in Masdar City with Dr. Lamia Fawas and Ahmed Baghoum. Masdar City is a newly built neighborhood that will become a completely carbon-neutral suburb of Abu Dhabi. During her walk, the Crown Princess watched the opening ceremony of the Sweden SymbioCity Office.

The afternoon began with a visit to some familiar territory, IKEA’s new store in Abu Dhabi. When the store is conpleted, it will be the largest in the region and Victoria was given a first-hand tour of the premises and with the “Symbio” theme, Victoria planted a tree outside the entrance.

In the evening, the Crown Princess was present at a reception for the Swedish colony at the Radisson Hotel Yas Island Abu Dhabi. She also met with H.H. General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Executive Council who welcomed Princess Victoria and praised Sweden’s growing interest in the environment related issues and enhancing renewable energy resources.

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19th January;

The Crown Princess began her third day in the United Arab Emirates by visiting Scania and ESAB, a Swedish company in the welding industry that is in the forefront of environmental technology. After a tour of ESAB’s premises, Crown Princess attended a panel discussion on Corporate Social Responsibility.

In the afternoon the Crown Princess visited the Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF project in the Wadi Wurayah Mountain Protected Area in Fujairah. The Crown Princess then went onto Ajman, where she visited the Rashid Centre for Diabetes and Research. Among the things Victoria saw on her visit, was how diabetes could affect vision. The evening ended with a dinner hosted by HH Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman.

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20th January;

Crown Princess Victoria began her fourth and final day in the United Arab Emirates with a visit to Abu Dhabi Golf Championship where, among other, Swedes Peter Hanson, Henrik Stenson and Niclas Fasth were participating. Afterwards, the Crown Princess visited the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai. Burj Khalifa is over 820 meters high and has more than 160 floors.

In the afternoon the Crown Princess visited The Old Bastakiya. The district is best known for its wind towers located along the natural seawater inlet that passes through the center of town. The Crown Princess concluded her visit to the United Arab Emirates by going to see the Swedish Church’s activities in the Norwegian Seamen’s Centre in Dubai.